Trump Immunity Ruling Invites Presidents to Commit Crimes

The Supreme Court, in perhaps its most consequential decision about the powers and parameters of the US presidency, ruled on Monday that Donald Trump cannot be tried in a criminal court for any “actions within his conclusive and preclusive constitutional authority” while serving in the White House. But any potentially criminal acts that were “unofficial” — that is, taken to promote his personal interests — are fair game, the court ruled.

The most direct result of the ruling is that Trump, a twice-impeached convicted felon, will not be tried before Election Day for his role in the events surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, siege at the US Capitol. Federal prosecutors indicted Trump last August on multiple counts of electoral fraud related to his and his co-conspirators’ efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, with Jan. 6 featuring prominently in the charges. The Supreme Court, in a 6-3 ruling that tracked its long-standing ideological divisions, sent the case back to District Judge Tanya Chutkan to be reconsidered and revised.